Financial Obstacles for US Hispanics

NOP World has announced the first results from its new Hispanic OmniTelTM Financial Services Study. Findings show Hispanic Americans far less satisfied with their investments than other Americans - only 35% are 'very satisfied with where they have their money today' vs 50% in the nation as a whole.

Nearly two-thirds of Hispanic Americans say financial services companies communicate in Spanish less often than they would like, while more than half say it is very important that financial companies communicate in Spanish both in print and speech.

There are other obstacles, however, besides language, ranging from simply not having enough money to invest (51% of Hispanics vs 45% overall) to lack of knowledge (42% vs 23% overall) and not knowing whom to trust with one's money (41% vs. 31% of the general population).

Hispanics are less likely to own a wide range of financial services products than other Americans, but half report that they have savings and checking accounts, 24% universal life insurance, and 13% mutual funds outside of employer-sponsored plans. However, only 39% have retirement savings plans available at work, well below the average 64% - and where these plans are available, participation rates for Hispanic Americans are lower, at 53% compared to 71% of the general population.

Senior VP Nick Iadicicco sums up the problem: 'Hispanic Americans just aren't getting the information they need in a form that they can use it, and the result is confusion, uncertainty, and low levels of trust... Financial services companies need to do a better job of reaching out to and communicating with this market, which is projected to grow rapidly over the next several years-much faster than the rest of the US population'.

500 Hispanic Americans were interviewed by telephone. NOP World is online at www.nopworld.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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